The University of Wisconsin’s student government heard plans for University Health Services to renovate their space and also approved a budget for child care services for students in a meeting Monday.

UHS BUDGET

SSFC heard a presentation of the University Health Services budget for the coming fiscal year Monday night. Sarah Van Orman, executive director of UHS, said it plans to add staff to various areas of healthcare including metal health, primary care, violence prevention and communications.

Van Orman said UHS has seen an increase in visits per enrolled student, with UHS expecting to top 90,000 visits this year. Arnold Jennerman, director of administrative services at UHS, said it has budgeted $1.2 million for remodeling of the current facility.

“Our current seventh and eighth floor facilities can no long [sic] fit the staff,” said Van Orman.

He added UHS has changed its model to accommodate an increasing demand for mental health services. There has also been an increase in the number of students coming in with a need for long-term treatment or medication, Van Orman said.

“We’re probably going to run it as several small projects to hopefully add spaces that are needed on campus,” Jennerman said.

Van Orman said UHS hopes to remain in its current centralized location at East Campus Mall, as opposed to branching out and creating satellites on the campus. The current UHS location allows students with a nearby facility that can be accessed easily, he said.

Remodeling will also allow UHS to repurpose some of the space that is not being used efficiently, Jennerman said.

“For example, our waiting rooms on the fifth and sixth floor are way too large,” he said. “The building was designed 10 years ago when same day appointments were not used. Now if there’s six people in a waiting room, that’s too many,” he said.

Jennerman also said the implementation of the Affordable Care Act will increase the value of UHS for current UW students. However, Van Orman said billing third party insurance may become more difficult with the act’s implementation. She said UHS plans to send out an insurance survey in the coming years to assess this.